The Card Apprentice

Chapter 85: The Fiery Mayfly

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Mu had repaired twelve of the fifteen three-star cards, with the difficulty of the other three too high, especially given the current strength of his perception.

From the lesson he got last time, he was a lot more careful in his deployment of his perception. Increases in his perception were slow, so he just spent more of his time with learning how to refine his control. He found that the fine threads of perception which emanated from the pillar of his shuttle-shaped perceptual vortex were very suited to fine control. They were sensitive and fine, and they were numerous and linked in countless ways.

He was already pleased with being able to repair twelve cards. There was no lack of gems among them, and many of them broadened the scope of his vision. One of them was particularly fine, a three-star fantasy card. It had a peculiar composition which was unlike any three-star fantasy card that Chen Mu had ever seen.

After activation, it could become a spherical energy cloak. It was the first protective fantasy card that Chen Mu had ever seen, though he naturally wouldn’t consider it to be unique because of that. What really surprised him was that it could be controlled by perception to transform its shape, even to the extent of being able to stick it tightly to one’s skin.

This reminded him of the “fish scale cloak” fantasy card introduced in some of the information that the demonic woman had found out about the Yao clan last time, though he didn’t know if there were any similarities between them.

Compared with the ordinary “fiery dragon” fantasy card, although it was also a three-star fantasy card, it was a lot more advanced in both its conception and ingenuity.

Chen Mu felt that his progress had been very fast that week. The “mud fish” jet stream card and those twelve three-star cards had greatly expanded both his horizons and his thinking.

He calculated that the twelve cards would give him 240,000 Oudi in income.

He had started to enjoy doing the card repair work. He could learn about all kinds of strange cards, which was just the knowledge he wanted.

He visited that shop in Amay City again over the weekend. After checking over those twelve cards, the shopkeeper readily paid. Chen Mu didn’t linger and took another fifteen cards and then returned home.

During the trip, the train was still showing “The Legend of Master Shi.”

* * *

“Is this Madam Ning? This is the Chang Tai card shop. The card you sent in for repair last time has been repaired. May I ask when you would like to pick it up?”

“Card? From when?” Madam Ning asked a little baffled. She couldn’t remember when she had sent any sort of card in for repair.

“Half a year ago, you commissioned us to repair a three-star card for you. The shop has recently been fortunate to have formed an association with a mid-grade card master, and your card has finally been repaired. You may claim it.” The proprietor responded very politely, though he did go on and on about that so called mid-grade card master.

“Oh, I remember!” Madam Ning suddenly remembered that half a year earlier when she was going through her father’s things, she had sent his most treasured card in for repair. She hadn’t had much hope at the time, and her family fortunes were falling, already not up to what they had been. Seeking out a professional card master to do the repair would have been very expensive, so she could only send it to a small shop.

“What is the fee?” Madam Ning was apprehensive and had clearly been shocked when the shopkeeper had used the words ‘mid-grade card master.’ She didn’t have much money on hand, but since it was left behind by her father, she wasn’t willing to sell it.

“You would pay twenty-five thousand Oudi, according to our agreement.” The shopkeeper said full of smiles.

Madam Ning quickly let out a sigh of relief. Although twenty-five thousand Oudi wasn’t a small figure to her, it was at least within her ability to pay.

“OK, I’ll pick it up right away.” Madam Ning said decisively.

Madam Ning began to cry seeing her father’s legacy restored to what it had been. She was about thirty years old, and wore a long natural-colored hempen dress. Although her appearance didn’t stand out, she had a demure temperament and gave people a favorable impression. She was a teacher at a basic school. When her father was still alive, he had been a somewhat famous card artisan.

Ning was a big family name in Amay City. Their ancestors had been the first group of settlers there.

The shopkeeper became a little flustered seeing Madam Ning cry. But Madam Ning quickly regained her composure and stopped crying, although her voice remained choked up as she quietly thanked the shopkeeper, “I am very grateful to you for this!”

“Now now, your talking like that puts me to shame. This card has already been here for half a year, not being repaired until today, which makes me feel very apologetic!” The shopkeeper was rubbing his hands and speaking hurriedly.

He wouldn’t dare to slight the gentle madam he was looking at, although she was dressed plainly, and didn’t look very well off. The shopkeeper was a local and understood more about Madam Ning than most people would.

“No matter how, I have to thank you!” Madam Ning had burst into a happy look, which left the shopkeeper staring.

“I wonder if you have contact information for that card master: I would like to thank him personally. “Madam Ning said earnestly.

* * *

“Yao Ke!” Chen Mu had been called-after just as class was letting out. When he turned around to look, he saw Phoenix and Ya Ya behind him, and the one calling out to him was Phoenix.

Chen Mu looked at them without saying anything, waiting for them to say what they had in mind.

“Do you have some time? That ‘mud fish’ card that you made is already in place in the new car that was just completed. Would you like to go see it together?” Phoenix asked forthrightly, while Ya Ya was watching from the side.

After considering it, Chen Mu also wanted to see what kind of shuttle car had been made from the “mud fish” jet stream card, so he nodded, “OK.”

Arriving again at the basement repair shop, it was quite a bit more boisterous than the desolation of the last time. There were a lot of people around in the shop, all talking excitedly. Many of them were gathered around Hua Hua, who looked very pleased with himself, with his bird’s nest hair unusually eye catching under the lights.

The keen-sighted Hua Hua immediately saw Chen Mu, which quickly changed his expression. His look of self-satisfaction disappeared immediately, as he struggled to get away from the crowd, eager to get together with Chen Mu.

“Hey, Big Brother Yao has arrived!” Hua Hua’s tone was full of flattery, diametrically opposite to the disdain the last time. The cool brother in front of him was the ace who had been able to make the “mud fish” jet stream card. The people here all played with technology, typically putting technology first. Chen Mu had earned their praise by the facts.

Not to mention that for people like Hua Hua, a powerful card master could give them a lot of help.

Zuo Tingyi would be mentioned if you were talking about card making geniuses. But for people like Zuo Tingyi who had come from such a powerful family, just a plucking a hair would feel like plucking something thicker than their legs, and they would look to see if you were sucking up sufficiently to recognize their worth. Not to mention that with Zuo Tingyi’s illustrious huge name, who would dare go looking for him?

Chen Mu was paying attention to the shuttle car right in the middle of the shop, covered with a blue tarp, under tight wraps.

“This is the new car?” Chen Mu tipped his head to ask Hua Hua.

“Yes, yes!” Hua Hua was hurriedly nodding, his hair flopping like a chicken pecking for rice.

The were all sizing up Chen Mu, wondering where he’d come from. No one there recognized him, and they weren’t clear about Hua Hua’s attitude toward him.

They were all whispering about where he’d come from, but no one knew.

“Hey, Hua Hua, why don’t you introduce this cool guy?” The one speaking was a muscular guy with a head of silver hair.

The shop then quieted down, and everyone stopped their discussions, all of them concentrating their gaze on Chen Mu and Hua Hua.

“This Brother Yao is a friend of Phoenix, Spanner, someone who is a card making ace!” Hua Hua proudly introduced him. This muscular silver haired guy was nicknamed ‘spanner,’ since he was good at all kinds of troubleshooting, and pretty famous among that circle at Eastern Wei Academy.

“A card making ace?” Spanner’s expression was cautious. “I wonder what year Yao Ke is, and what section?”

While there were many card masters at Eastern Wei Academy, there weren’t many who would be called ‘aces.’ It was very clear that he wasn’t among those that Spanner hand in mind as card making aces.

“He’s in the same section with Phoenix!” Hua Hua rushed to answer.

“Ha Ha!” The quiet shop burst out in laughter. They all knew Phoenix and were very clear about which section she was in. How could the sponsorship section have an ace?

Phoenix’s expression chilled right off, “What? What is it you’re thinking?”

Spanner was smiling, “They’re just surprised that your section could have produced an ace.” His expression and tone still had a clear ring of disapproval.

Chen Mu didn’t change his expression among all the laughter. As far as he was concerned, the attitudes of those people had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t have anything to prove to them. And in any case, he had never considered himself to be a card making ace. As far as making the “mud fish” jet stream card, he only thought of that as an ordinary business matter.

Hua Hua suddenly showed a mocking expression, clucking his cheek, “A card master who can make the ‘mud fish’ jet stream card isn’t considered a card making ace?”

The laughter stopped as soon as he said that.

“He made the ‘mud fish’?” Spanner looked astonished, but even more as though he didn’t believe it.

Hua Hua rolled his eyes, and said in a bad mood, “Where else do you think this ‘mud fish’ card came from?”

“What if it’s your own?” Spanner quickly asked.

“I have no intention of selling my “mud fish,” which is my lifeblood, and I won’t sell it no matter who wants it.” Then Hua Hua puffed up and said, “Sister Phoenix spent a million to entice Brother Yao to help her make one.”

Everyone gasped, it being unclear if that was about the million or about Chen Mu being able to make the “mud fish.”

Spanner gave Chen Mu a look of astonishment. Although a million was a high figure, it wasn’t expensive for making a “mud fish” jet stream card. But he was more surprised that this guy called Yao Ke had the ability to make something so lofty.

Nearly everyone in that circle knew the reputation of the “mud fish” jet stream card. And they knew why it was so famous, both because it had up to seven directionally controllable jet streams, and because it was so rare. The other important reason was that it was so difficult to make.

Could this person actually make the “mud fish?”

Of a sudden, the previously dumb and silent Chen Mu had become inscrutable in everyone’s eyes. And everyone’s gaze went from disdainful to stunned, incredulous, worshipful. . .

Chen Mu stayed as calm as always, not having the least bit of mood swing from the change in everyone’s attitude.

“Look at that guy, he has the bearing of an ace after all.”

“That’s right, could he have made “mud fish” without that manner? I was just thinking that he didn’t look like an ordinary person . . . ”

Everyone had opinions, and secretly glanced at Chen Mu from time to time.

“Alright, everyone quiet down!” Hua Hua spread his hands for everyone to calm down. He had a serious look, completely different from his normal happy-go-lucky self.

“I don’t know who leaked the news, but since everyone has come, I am very honored.” Hua Hua said in a bright voice, “Originally I didn’t think that brother Yao could make the ‘mud fish’ either. You guys all know how hard that would be. And I never would have thought that brother Yao really made it. To tell the truth, I’m still dumb.”

Everyone kept their mouths tactfully shut, earnestly listening to what Hua Hua was saying.

“I only had one idea in my head then, that I didn’t want to disappoint the “mud fish!” To be able to try out “mud fish” is not a simple opportunity!” Hua Hua was getting excited, “So, I blasted through a lot of schemes for this shuttle car of Phoenix’s, until I finally decided on the design!”

“This shuttle card is called . . .” Hua Hua pulled off the blue tarp.

“The Fiery Mayfly!”

A uniquely modeled shuttle car appeared before everyone, with a vertically flat body, and an even flatter tail which could swing very nimbly and looked bigger than the front of the car. The car was a deep red and bright yellow with the two shades melding together in waves, making it look more like roaring flames. Even though it was sitting there quietly, everyone was still immediately taken in by it.

“Wow!” Phoenix shouted, as she gazed at the shuttle car in disbelief. She fell in love with the incredibly dazzling singular shuttle car as soon as she saw it.

The repair shop was suddenly boiling with excitement, as the incomparable masterpiece immediately stirred the blood of those shuttle car aficionados.

They all came forward, stroking it all over. Those like Spanner were pulling at Hua Hua, wanting to discuss some design issues.

Phoenix’s eyes were shining, feeling as though countless stars were shooting, and she couldn’t resist immediately getting into the shuttle car. Ya Ya was also looking on enviously at her side, since that shuttle car was really too gorgeous!

Chen Mu was giving it a careful examination, despite his having only a general knowledge of shuttle cars. Apart from its strange shape, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with it. He also didn’t understand why those people were so insanely excited. And he didn’t understand why anyone would want to spend over a million for such a thing.

He quietly got out from the crowd and got ready to leave.

But he stopped at Hua Hua’s neighboring shop after taking two steps. The head of this shop was probably in Hua Hua’s shop, and the shop was now empty. There were a lot of fantastically shaped objects scattered on the floor.

One hardly noticeable thing got Chen Mu’s attention.